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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477325">The Road Not Taken</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpnaps/pseuds/simpnaps'>simpnaps</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, Hunter!Sapnap, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minecraft, Realistic Minecraft, endermen but they're a plot device, like it's minecraft but it's realistic, made up minecraft rules, not set on the SMP, sapnap george and dream are hunters, technically, villager!karl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:20:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,999</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477325</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpnaps/pseuds/simpnaps</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After Sapnap gets ditched by Dream and George, in the middle of the woods, in the middle of the night, while being practically stalked by an enderman, all he really wanted was to find a cave and hide out until the morning, where he could kill Dream and George for ditching him in peace.<br/>However, instead of finding a cave, or running into more monsters, he stumbles across a scrawny, dirty village boy, clutching a bag of books, who doesn't even know what an enderman looks like. <br/>And, well... Sapnap wasn't heartless, alright? (Though, in times like these, he really wished he was, sometimes.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Karl Jacobs/Sapnap</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>337</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Road Not Taken</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Set in Minecraft, but my own vague version that really isn't how the game is played at all. Just go with it. (Not set in the SMP!)<br/>(Yeah, I haven't posted in like two months. No I didn't proofread this.)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sapnap was really pissed off. </p>
<p>When they came back, he was going to murder them. Bow to their necks and execute them in cold blood. </p>
<p>It started with the goddamn enderman. The enderman that George was running from, that Sapnap killed because he was a nice friend and a good person and wasn’t going to let his friend die from an enderman. </p>
<p>But of course, George tripped, and Dream freaked out, and before Sapnap could even pick up the pearl the enderman dropped, Dream was yelling that he was taking George to the nearest village healer and to stay at camp and they would be back by the morning and whatever. </p>
<p>It wasn’t like they didn’t have healing stuff at their camp. Like George didn’t make them carry around potions and bandages and extra food just for this reason. But Sapnap couldn’t even hear George’s argument to Dream scooping him up, and he doubted Dream heard anything, too busy yelling about how George was bleeding and he couldn’t die and blah, blah, blah, now Sapnap is stuck in the dark woods with nothing but a campfire and three people’s worth of stuff to protect through the night. </p>
<p>He worked his way through the dense trees, back to where they had left their stuff in a shallow cave hidden in the forest. Sapnap hated forest caves, since they went basically straight into the ground with no overhead protection, and if they were surrounded they would be fighting upwards, but Dream said they needed to attract endermen, so they couldn’t head towards the mountains. </p>
<p>Stupid. George would be fine. Of all of them, he was the one who got hurt the most, from mobs, or pillagers, or just stupid mobs in the woods. Sapnap couldn’t count on two hands the amount of times that George has been sent careening through the air because of a stray creeper he never bothered to listen out for, or the amount of times he has screamed about being hit by an arrow from the skeleton, only for the wound to heal in a day. Dream was just an overreacting asshole who cared more about George and his stupid injury than even stopping to realize Sapnap would be left alone in dense woods. During the night. </p>
<p>Sapnap needed new friends. </p>
<p>Out of his frustration, Sapnap swung at a tree, slicing off a huge branch easily. It hit the ground with a loud rustle, and he soon realized his mistake, when the silence of the woods flooded back into his ears. He could attract every mob in the area, if he didn’t shut up and just go hide out for the rest of the night. </p>
<p>He had gotten hit by a zombie, a weak punch to the back when he was finishing off the enderman after George had been taken down. Nothing he hadn’t dealt with before (he had been, like, one poke away from death, multiple times), but it still stung, and made his already messed up shoulder ache. </p>
<p>He had paused, waiting to not make more noise and attract any monster, and heard a rustling nearby. He swung his sword out, holding it out. Honestly, he was just tired. He didn’t want to fight a monster, didn’t want to stay awake the whole night with no one else to look out for mobs or attacks, didn’t want to be in these goddamn woods in the first place. </p>
<p>The rustling continued, then a quiet, “oh, honk.” </p>
<p>That didn’t sound like a mob. </p>
<p>“Who’s there,” Sapnap growled, hoping to sound threatening to whatever, or whoever, he guessed, was out there. The rustling stopped, like the person froze. </p>
<p>“Uh…” </p>
<p>The voice sounded small, timid in their nonresponse. Sapnap took a step forward, pushing a few branches out of the way. </p>
<p>There was a guy there, kneeling over an overturned bag. Mousy brown hair, and big eyes that stared up at Sapnap in fear. He was wearing villager clothing - Sapnap recognized it as baker's clothing, smeared with what looked to be flour, opposing Sapnap’s clothing, smeared with mud and blood. He wondered what he looked like - tired, worn down, bleeding out of his shoulder, holding a sword out to the guy’s neck. He supposed it was a good thing, coming across this way to others, but… maybe not to scare some random guy in the woods who obviously didn’t want to be there, if the look in his eye was any indication. </p>
<p>“What the hell are you doing out here,” Sapnap said, at the same time the guy said, “Please don’t kill me, that would really suck.” </p>
<p>Sapnap let his sword drop with a sigh. The guy visibly relaxed when the sword was no longer pointed at him, and Sapnap noticed that his bag on the ground was full of books. “Do you not have any food with you?” </p>
<p>There was a slight gash on the guy's cheek, a thin red line, and Sapnap guessed it was a rogue arrow. The guy looked frantic in nature, hair messy and clothes askew. </p>
<p>“I dropped my food, like, a hundred feet back that way. There was a skeleton, and one of those weird tall things that can teleport, and they were after me, and the tall thing was, like, buzzing, and I was running, and dropped my bag. The skeleton stopped, and the tall thing started going after something else. I heard a yell, and I was gonna go try and help, but I really didn’t want to face that tall, glitchy thing again.” </p>
<p>Sapnap stared at him rant, wondering what the hell a goddamn baker was doing in the woods in the dead of night. He must’ve heard George’s yell when the Enderman started to attack. </p>
<p>“The enderman?” </p>
<p>“That was an enderman?!” The guy yelped, and Sapnap jumped at the volume, grimacing and pushing forward towards the guy. </p>
<p>“Be quiet! God, you’re gonna attract every mob in the woods towards us,” Sapnap said, watching the guy go wide eyed, and bite his lip. </p>
<p>“Sorry,” he mumbled, finally finishing shoving the books back into his bag, standing up. He was taller than Sapnap, but skinny. His clothes hung off of him like a blanket, heavy over his thin frame. The bag itself was larger than he was, it seemed. “I’ve heard about endermen before, but I’ve never seen one! I didn’t know they would be that freaky.” </p>
<p>“The buzzing gets annoying. You’re lucky it got distracted and didn’t fully attack you. Why would you look at one directly in its eyes,” Sapnap said, quiet as he glanced around, listening out for mobs that the guy’s yell might’ve attracted. He didn’t hear anything, and was hoping they were in the clear. He really, really didn’t want to fight a swarm of mobs. </p>
<p>“I didn’t know,” the guy said, brow furrowing for a bit as he glanced around. “Is that how it starts to attack you?” </p>
<p>Sapnap raised an eyebrow, maybe a bit in disbelief and judgement. This guy was the most clueless. Sure, Sapnap knew not everyone knew everything about every mob, most people spent most of their time hiding from mobs, instead of running straight for them. But this guy apparently knew nothing. Endermen were the creepiest mob, the scariest in Sapnap’s humble opinion. He would’ve thought that this guy would’ve learned that, at some point. At least the most basic of information to protect themself from the mob. He had known of stray enderman trailing into villages, had heard screams from miles away as endermen began to attack those unprepared. The general rule of “don’t look at the enderman, the enderman won’t attack” was one that Sapnap found himself repeating to village after village, person after person, whispering to children as they heal by the village fountain, yelled from a field away as they ran towards a rogue enderman vibrating over a group of children who had strayed too far from a village too close to nightfall. He figured that it was more common knowledge.</p>
<p>“Yeah, looking at its eyes. Otherwise, they ignore you. Usually.” Sapnap thought about the amount of times George himself just stared at Endermen. It’s what got them in most of their predicaments with the vibrating bastards - George staring at one from across a field thinking it’s safe, before the enderman would teleport to them and begin attacking. </p>
<p>“That’s so cool!” The guy said, bouncing a bit, and Sapnap’s slight judgement heightened to disbelief mixed with even more judgement at the guy. He couldn’t have been that much older than Sapnap himself, young and naive in a way that Sapnap sometimes wished he still had. His hands ached as if in reminder at his side. The fighting he’s done, the things he has seen, the brushes with death that brought him ever closer to the edge with every swipe of his sword… he wished he still had that naivety, the innocence of not dedicating your life to fighting for a cause that just never seemed to end. “Do you fight them a lot?” </p>
<p>“I’m a hunter,” Sapnap said plainly, and the guy’s face fell with shock, eyes widening and jaw rolling open. </p>
<p>“No way! I’ve heard stories of hunters, but they rarely trail this far out from the middle city! We had a hunter pass through a couple years ago, but my dad didn’t let me go and see him.” </p>
<p>Sapnap watched the guy fiddle with his bag string, staring at the ground suddenly, like he was suddenly hit with a wave of sadness. Again, he wondered why a regular villager was this far outside the village, in dark woods, in the middle of the night. He couldn’t have been lost - he would’ve said something. It must’ve been something else. </p>
<p>“We shouldn’t be standing in the open like this,” Sapnap said, and the guy looked up, nodding in agreement quickly. His eyes were still wide - they seemed to naturally be like that - as he agreed with Sapnap, like he trusted him. Which… wow, Sapnap wasn’t used to. George barely trusted him, and he’s known the dude for years, been travelling with him for as long. At first, they had hated each other, when Dream had come to Sapnap and said that there was a guy who wanted to learn how to hunt, and that Dream was going to teach him, and Sapnap felt territorial over his best friend, over his hunting partner, staring George down the entire first quest, secretly hoping he would take an unfortunate tumble into a ravine. And he knew that George didn’t like him either. But they held it in, didn’t say anything, just to not make Dream upset, and eventually Sapnap felt the hatred fading, and when George started laughing at his jokes and hiding behind him in the nether, he knew that they were actually friends, actually allies. </p>
<p>Too bad Sapnap would be killing both of them when they came back to camp out of pure annoyance. </p>
<p>“We shouldn’t try to go towards the village. My partners just went that way, one injured. Monster’s will be running rampant that way.” </p>
<p>Sapnap tried to not acknowledge the genuine relief that passed across the other’s face when he said that, but his keen eye picked up on it anyway. The guy glanced around, though, uneasy at the mention of more mobs. “Where can we go?” </p>
<p>“We have a camp set up in a cave not far from here. We can hide out there for the night, until my partners get back,” Sapnap said, and turned on his heel, stomping away. He heard the leaves crumple behind him as the other followed. </p>
<p>“Are your… partners… hunters too?” the guy asked, voice quiet, yet still echoey in the dark woods. Sapnap kept an eye out for abnormal leaves rustling, and an ear out for noises. </p>
<p>“Partners are what you call hunter groups. I’ve been travelling with my partners for years now, one for my whole hunting career.” Sapnap pushed a branch out of the way, holding it for the other. The guy nodded in thanks, ducking under, bag practically making him tip over. Sapnap itched to reach out and just take it from him, condescending like he does when he takes George’s stuff on days they’ve been walking the entire time. </p>
<p>“You seem really young, though. How long have you been hunting?” The guy asked, and Sapnap ducked through as well. There was faint light from the cave through the little opening in front of it, and he led the other towards it. </p>
<p>“You ask a lot of questions,” Sapnap mumbled, getting a bit of silence in response, until he heard a soft mumbling sorry. He felt bad, then, a pang of guilt for making the poor clueless villager sad, but then he remembered that he is a hunter, he has killed more mobs than most can imagine, gone to the nether more times than he could count, almost drowning in lava or getting killed by a wither more times than he could care to admit. He didn’t feel sorry for measly villagers. He didn’t get attached to villagers. He had Dream, and George, and an entire world to explore. That’s all he needed. </p>
<p>But then he turned, holding the curtain of leaves they had set up for a bit of protection open for the guy, and saw his wide eyes and slight frown, and Sapnap sighed heavily, realizing it was about to be a long night.</p>
<p>“I’ve been a hunter since I was fifteen. My partner, Dream - back then he was just my friend - was sixteen, and brought me along on his first quests. Our other partner, George, joined us when I was seventeen. Those first quests with Dream were four years ago, now.” </p>
<p>“So you’re nineteen,” the guy said, glancing around the little camp. Their stuff was spread out from before - when they had been getting ready for sleep and beginning the night shifts of keeping watch, and George went out to see if there were any berries nearby to get for a quick snack, and Dream and George heard his ever-too-familiar scream - in a way that was comforting to Sapnap. Dream’s bedroll was by George’s, Sapnap’s was more towards the little campfire they had going, their food bag open, half full of bread and berries and a bit of cooked meat that was preserved by being wrapped in cloth from torn up clothing that the guys couldn’t wear anymore. It was what most of their campsites looked like - small, yet comfortable in a way Sapnap couldn’t really describe - but he could sense the guy’s unease at seeing it. </p>
<p>“Yes. You’re around the same age,” Sapnap said, not even a question, but the guy nodded quickly in response. </p>
<p>“I’m eighteen,” he said, and Sapnap nodded. </p>
<p>“You can take some food from the bag,” he said, grabbing his own bag near his bedroll to try and find his healing potions. He only had one left, but they were planning on heading towards their home in the middle city anyway, so Sapnap knew he would be able to restock with Wilbur soon enough. One potion was too much for just a measly bruise on his back, though… “Does that cut hurt? It looks fresh.” </p>
<p>The guy looked up from where he was eyeing the food bag, and brought a hand up to touch the thin line. He brought his hand away, noticing the smallest bit of smeared blood. “Oh.” </p>
<p>“Rogue skeleton shot? You’re lucky it didn’t gouge your eye out,” Sapnap said, finding the little purple potion near the bottom of his bag. He popped open the cap, and took a small swig, the sweet tasting potion warming him, like a nice blanket was wrapped around his shoulders suddenly. It reminded him of his old life, before hunting, working on the farm and playing in the village center. Staring in awe at hunters that passed through along with the rest of the village. Before hunting himself. </p>
<p>He wouldn’t give up hunting for his life. He loved hunting, loved the rush of saving villages, of killing mobs, of succeeding in difficult tasks alongside his friends. But sometimes he had the moments of wondering where he would be without hunting. Probably still working on the farm, probably being forced to marry someone by his parents, probably having children of his own to continue the endless cycle that he broke with ease. It would’ve been safe, that was a given. But it wouldn’t have been satisfying. Wouldn’t have been fulfilling. Wouldn’t have been him. </p>
<p>“Drink this, it’ll heal it,” Sapnap said, holding out the vial to the other. He had drunk half of it, warmth seeping into his bones and to his back, instantly making him feel better. The guy took the vial, staring at it then back at Sapnap, obviously never having taken a potion before. Of course he wouldn’t have, the guy didn’t know what a freaking Enderman looked like. “It’s safe. It’ll make you feel warm, then you will feel tingling on the gash. It keeps anything from scarring, too.” </p>
<p>The guy drank it. He shivered, and Sapnap smiled involuntarily, knowing the exact feeling that the guy was having - the first time drinking a healing potion was always exhilarating. Sapnap’s first time having to take a healing potion was mid-fight with a pillager outpost, and Sapnap killed more pillagers than Dream afterwards, even with a healing stab wound in his stomach. That was the first time Dream told him that he wanted him to stay with him, become his hunting partner. It was the moment that made Sapnap want to stay hunting, as well. </p>
<p>“Feel it working?” Sapnap asked, watching the guy slowly reach up to touch the gash, eyes becoming even wider and mouth falling open once more. </p>
<p>“Yeah… that’s so… woah,” he mumbled, feeling the cut practically stitch itself up under his fingertips, before he pulled his fingers away, cut gone from his face. He looked up at Sapnap in awe. “That’s so cool.”</p>
<p>Sapnap smiled, nodding. “It is.” </p>
<p>“Being a hunter must be so cool. You get to travel the world, see all the biomes and sights, get to go to, like, desert temples—”</p>
<p>“Almost get murdered by countless mobs and even people…” Sapnap added in, and the other went silent, looking up at him in worry, but Sapnap held up a hand. “That was a joke. Don’t worry.” </p>
<p>The guy nodded, uneasily, and Sapnap felt the need to elaborate. </p>
<p>“It’s hard work, that’s for sure. But I love it. I was supposed to be a farmer, my dad raised me as one. But I always wanted to do more. Make a difference, and all that junk. When Dream asked me on a quest, I couldn’t turn it down. I wanted to do something important, and this was it. Saving people, saving the world, in some ways… it sucks sometimes, that’s true. But then those moments are made up for, when we get to walk through a village and see everyone safe, or the satisfying ending of finally killing the last pillager during a raid on an unsuspecting village.” </p>
<p>He found himself ranting about his importance, about his passion for hunting. He never confessed this to anyone, never had any need to - he knew Dream and George felt the same way as him, so why bother talking about it. But something about this poor villager, with the too baggy clothes and the wide eyes and matted hair made him want to confess his deepest feelings. Made him want to express his love for what he did, despite how much he may complain about it. How happy he is to be able to travel with his closest friends, doing what they love to do, even if he wants to murder them half the time. </p>
<p>“That’s good,” the guy said softly, once Sapnap trailed off in his random outburst of emotion, of explanation for his job. He didn’t do it for the glory, even if he may really love the attention he got from it. “You’re lucky to find something you love.” </p>
<p>Silence overtook them. Sapnap was never good at conversation - always the quiet one of the group, especially around others. He liked his reputation (or what he liked to think was a reputation) of being stoic and quiet, the silent, scary hunter, and was used to Dream and George talking over him to other people anyway. So he wasn’t really sure how to continue with the stranger, who was staring at him, wide eyes and slightly sad look on his face. </p>
<p>Sapnap really wasn’t prepared for this. </p>
<p>“What about you? Find something you love?” He asked, the small talk question feeling foreign in his mouth, awkward and clunky and a couple beats too late for the conversation to seem consecutive, or Sapnap to not look like a dick. </p>
<p>“Like to do?” The guy asked, and Sapnap shrugged. </p>
<p>“Yeah.” He wished that the sun would come up already so he could leave the stranger and find Dream and George. </p>
<p>“Well I’m leaving to go to the middle of the world, the middle city. I’ll figure it out from there, I guess. That’s where you’re from, right?” The guy asked, and Sapnap raised an eyebrow. </p>
<p>“Leaving? Your village?” </p>
<p>“Yup.” The guy popped the p, looking momentarily proud of himself, sitting a bit taller, like the decision was groundbreaking. </p>
<p>“Why?” Sapnap found himself asking before he could stop himself. The guy seemed very… unprepared to be travelling that far. He eyed the bag of books and bit his lip. </p>
<p>The question settled around them, and the guy didn’t respond right away. Instead, he slumped a bit again, picking at the sleeve of his tunic, staring at his lap. He looked uneasy at the mere question, like answering was dangerous, and Sapnap wondered how he got himself into this situation. </p>
<p>“There’s no life for me here,” the guy said, and it was so cynical and depressing that Sapnap didn’t really know how to respond to it. The guy seemed to be the typical guy you would find in one of these smaller villages, with his boring clothes and wide eyed stare at any mention of adventure. Sapnap could practically see his laid out future - one of getting married a bit too young, popping out a bunch of little children, constantly wishing for a different life. Sapnap could see it so easily, the same exact life that he had left behind in lieu of following Dream how many years before. </p>
<p>He could also see the same spark in the guy’s eyes. The spark that Sapnap saw in his own, in reflections of tea kettles and other people’s armor. The spark that indicated the need for adventure, the willingness to give up his whole life to find something better, something fulfilling. The love of the risk that came with travelling, with leaving everything you know behind in search for something greater. He could see it, flashing in this stranger’s eyes, shiny and excitable, a bit naive, but who wasn’t at the beginning of a great journey. </p>
<p>Sapnap took a deep breath, and reached over across the fire, holding out a hand - callused and scarred from countless close encounters and small fist fights with mob after mob that didn’t require the help of healing potions. “Sapnap. My name.” </p>
<p>The guy stared at his hand, the scars and calluses, the black fingerless gloves that were practically torn to pieces (Sapnap needed to get a new pair when they got back to the center), before looking back up at Sapnap, and taking his hand. “Uh, Karl.” </p>
<p>--</p>
<p>	The sun rose hours later, and Sapnap and Karl still sat in the cave, waiting for daybreak to, well, break. </p>
<p>“So you left your home when you were fifteen… that must’ve been hard,” Karl said, curled up on Dream’s bedroll, watching Sapnap over the dull campfire. Sapnap, sitting on his own, picking at a tear on his gloves, shrugged. </p>
<p>“Not really. I knew that my home wasn’t ever going to make me happy, and hunting with Dream was where I wanted to be. I wasn’t leaving much behind,” Sapnap said, pulling on a loose string, memories of that cold day he left coming back to the forefront of his mind. He really should go visit his father - it’s been at least a year now, since he last went to visit. He hoped everything was alright back there. </p>
<p>“Oh,” Karl said, apparently not the answer that Karl wanted. Sapnap shifted, stretching his arms above his head. Outside was just becoming light, dark blue becoming brighter and brighter, barely noticeable to the two in the cave. Sapnap reached for his food bag, pulling out two little loaves of bread. He passed one over to Karl, who nodded in thanks, pulling a small chuck off the end. </p>
<p>“I always wanted to be a hunter though,” Sapnap continued, feeling like he had to clarify his own actions. “Like, ever since I was little, when hunters used to travel through my village. So when Dream gave me the opportunity… it was pretty easy.” </p>
<p>Karl nodded again. He did that a lot - was quiet, expecting Sapnap to talk longer than he really was comfortable with. Sapnap’s throat felt raw, just from the one night of almost constant talking. He never talked this much. </p>
<p>But something about Karl made him want to just confess everything about himself to him in a way he had never felt before - not with Dream, or George, or anyone. He literally talked the night away with the guy. </p>
<p>“Do you think everyone is meant for something?” Karl then asked, knocking Sapnap out of his thoughts. Karl seemed to favor questions like this - deep, personal in a way that Sapnap couldn’t really decode. Karl was… strange, Sapnap had decided. He was seemingly small and helpless, but seemed to have a passion for something more. The light behind his eyes was strong, happy and determined in a way that reminded Sapnap of Dream, George, and even himself. He sat with a straight back, proud in a way Sapnap couldn’t really comprehend as to why. To Sapnap, from just a physical perspective, he seemed like every unimportant villager he had ever met, quiet and serious. But after sitting across from him for an entire night, he felt like he was different, in a way he couldn’t quite comprehend. There was just something about him that made Sapnap want to know more about him, want to keep him safe, and protected. He felt like he related to Karl, in a way he couldn’t put words to. “Like how you’re meant for hunting?” </p>
<p>Sapnap thought about it. He always thought that he was meant for hunting, felt like that was what he was supposed to do. And he was always pretty confident that if Dream hadn’t come along, hadn’t asked him to join him, he would’ve become a hunter anyway, maybe just a bit later than fifteen. But that didn’t mean that everybody was meant for something, did it? “I don’t think so? I mean, I think people have passions and are meant to do great in the world, but not, like, meant for something specific. George, one of my hunting partners, didn’t start hunting until a year ago, and he’s almost twenty five. He never wanted to be a hunter, until Dream and I came along and sorta pulled him into it. I guess… I think that people are meant to do something, but… but it’s up to you to decide what, you know?” </p>
<p>Karl nodded along, practically hanging onto every word he was saying. Sapnap finished his speech with a wave of his hand, hardly award winning, but hey, he rarely spoke anyway, so maybe it was the best he could do. He watched Karl shift around, like he was thinking about the answer Sapnap just gave, contemplating everything that has happened until then - and, if Sapnap was right in what he thought, he probably was. “So… it’s okay to not know? What you’re meant for, I mean?” </p>
<p>Sapnap nodded quickly, shifting in his seat. He glanced outside, finally noticing the steadily growing light from outside their little cave. “Of course.” </p>
<p>Karl nodded, looking at his lap with a certain concentration, obviously thinking very hard. Sapnap tilted his head to the side, and watched him with a trained eye. He seemed so innocent, he thought as he watched Karl fidget in his seat, deep in his own mind. Sapnap glanced, again, at the sky brightening outside, and sighed heavily. As much as he wanted to stay, and if he was being honest, he really did, he knew he had a day to tend to, partners to check up on, a job to continue. And he knew the other was the same. </p>
<p>“So what’s the plan then?” Sapnap asked, standing. The fire, on it’s last leg, crackling away between them, flickered with his sudden movement. The warmth was all but gone, but Sapnap still felt it, curling deep in his chest, as he watched Karl, the poor, unassuming village kid who he related just a little too much to, stare up at him, eyes wide and ambition apparently wider. </p>
<p>“Plan?” </p>
<p>Sapnap gave him a smile - he hoped it was nice, hoped he came off as friendly. He hoped for a lot, when it came to Karl, it seemed. “What you’re gonna do when you get to the middle city.” </p>
<p>“I need to get there, first,” Karl said, chuckling softly, breaking the eye contact Sapnap had maintained. “Which seems pretty unlikely at this point. I could barely make it a mile away from my own village, and the middle city is almost a three day journey.” </p>
<p>“Two if you have experienced hunters at your side,” Sapnap said, stamping out the rest of the fire, watching smoke curl up between them. Karl watched it as well, then flicked his eyes over to Sapnap. </p>
<p>“Hunters at my side?” Karl asked timidly, and Sapnap smiled again. </p>
<p>“Well, you’re obviously gonna need it. C’mon, we need to go check up on Dream and George, then we can head out.” Sapnap began folding up his bedroll, glancing over at Karl and his discarded bag of books next to him. “You got everything you’ll need?” </p>
<p>Karl stared at him for one, two, three beats. He looked surprised at the offer, a bit of excitement deep in his gaze. Sapnap, again, knew the implications of being offered something like this. It was the same as when Dream offered to take Sapnap in as a hunting partner - the entirety of life changing around you with only a simple offer, a simple question. “You know, you’re really good at this. Maybe I should keep you around,” from Dream as they stood among the carcasses of pillagers during Sapnap’s first raid, Sapnap gripping the sword with such strength that his hands were shaking. “Hunting. With us. Travel the world, save people, fight monsters… I think you would like it,” whispered to George as they hid out in a hut in a burned down village, having found the guy viciously killing mob after mob during a thunderstorm one random summer day. And now… this. The opportunity for Karl to escape whatever his life held, the mediocrity of living in a random village on the world’s edge. </p>
<p>“You’re… gonna take me to the middle city?” Karl asked, awe evident in his voice as he scrambled to stand up. Sapnap shoved his bedroll into his bag, moving onto George’s. He gestured at Dream’s, and Karl scurried to follow his lead. </p>
<p>“We’re heading back there, anyway, and you said it yourself - it’s unlikely you would make it without an escort.” Sapnap refused to look up from the bedroll he quickly rolled up, not as neat as George liked it, but he was still sort of pissed at him for ditching him in the woods, so he shoved it away into the bag anyway. </p>
<p>“Thank you,” Karl said after a beat of silence, and Sapnap’s eyes flicked over to him. He finished rolling up Dream’s, holding it out to Sapnap, and Sapnap took it with a sharp nod, forgoing a response. He wasn’t really sure how to respond, anyway. </p>
<p>They weren’t escorts. Over the years, they had denied multiple people in need of escorts to the center city, claiming that hunters didn’t make good escorts. And it was true. Dream, Sapnap, and George were used to living off of the land, going hungry for a couple days if need be, fighting monsters constantly, taking the hardest route to avoid travelling traders and the like. But, again, something about Karl, with his thin frame, ratty clothing, wide eyes, and messy hair made Sapnap want to see through his safety and travels. </p>
<p>Plus, it wasn’t like Karl really had any other choice. And Sapnap wasn’t heartless, far from, in fact. He wasn’t going to leave the poor guy alone in a cave or send him off on his own when he didn’t even know what an enderman was. That would just be cruel. </p>
<p>“We have to go towards the village to get your partners?” Karl asked as Sapnap shoved the bedroll into Dream’s bag, eyeing the roll of bandages and three healing potions at the top of his bag that would’ve been more than enough to help George after getting hurt. </p>
<p>“Yeah, should probably make sure that they’re alright.” Sapnap wondered how kind Karl would be if he murdered Dream and George in front of him. He hoped he was alright with it, because he was still ready to kill his partners for ditching him in the woods the night before. </p>
<p>He was exhausted, after no sleep, but it wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to. He had spent days on end without sleep, when Dream got particularly excited about a place to travel to and didn’t let them rest for a few days. He had gotten pretty used to running on little to no sleep, through pure willpower and the refusal to be seen as wimpy in front of his hunting partners. </p>
<p>He was sure Karl was different, wasn’t used to running on almost no sleep, but he hoped he could power through, as he pushed back the curtain of leaves, peering out of their little cave. The sun was beginning to rise, rays hitting his face with natural warmth that the fire had down its best to emulate. </p>
<p>“And then… head to the middle city?” Karl asked timidly, hurriedly picking up his bag of books. Sapnap wanted to make a jeering comment about them, but the way that Karl held them close to him, one hand on the strap, the other pressed against the side made him not want to comment. </p>
<p>“Yep, to the middle city. We’ll pass by again, for George and Dream’s stuff, you can leave it,” Sapnap said, stepping out of the cave, breathing in the fresh, early morning air. The logical part of his mind barked to stay on the lookout for stray mobs that survived the night, especially in dark woods, but he stamped out the constant string of worries and fears, holding back the curtain of leaves for Karl, who quietly thanked him as he stepped out of the cave, glancing around with wariness. “Don’t stress. Monsters’ll have died off or hid away by now.” </p>
<p>“I’m not stressed,” Karl said, wringing his hands together and pushing his bag higher up on his shoulder, defiant lilt in his voice losing it’s purpose as he glanced around quickly. Sapnap found himself chuckling, and patting his shoulder, awkwardly. He was never a very physical person, but it felt right, to touch Karl, to give him some semblance of comfort. Karl looked over at him, eyes wide, soul wider, and Sapnap realized that he would walk to the other end of the world for this guy. </p>
<p>“Yeah, well… no need to, anyway. I’ll protect you.” </p>
<p>And really, when it came down to it, he meant that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's been a while!! <br/>I'm gonna be real with you, after my other two fics, I hit a big writing slump that I just couldn't get out of, and wrote this over the course of my two month "break". But lately, I've been getting a lot of love on the other two fics on here (and even saw my fics in a few fic recs on TikTok, which... WTF in the best possible way) and it really made me excited to write again, especially for my favorite boys. <br/>Big things coming soon (sooner than last time, I promise)! <br/>Thank you all so much for reading! As always, kudos, comments, and bookmarks are always appreciated, but just reading is enough to make my little writer heart flutter! <br/>--<br/>tumblr: sunshinesapnap</p></blockquote></div></div>
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